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Nanotechnology looks promising

After years dominating the production of information-technology products, Taiwan is beefing up its research-and-development capabilities in biotechnology and, more recently, the microscopic science of nanotechnology.

President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) dream of establishing Taiwan as a "Silicon Island" took a knock last year after news the country had become the fourth largest producer of high-tech gear in the world from third largest the year before.

Chen responded by sinking NT$52 billion into biotechnology and another NT$19.2 billion into nanotechnology.

The biotech budget is spread over five years, beginning last year, while most of the nanotechnology budget will be spent over five years starting in 2003.

During a tour of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI,工研院) last month, Chen said nanotechnology was "the new century's rising star" that "will bring about a massive shift in the development of new materials, information-technology products and biomedicine."

The science of nanotechnology focuses on building and manipulating matter at the microscopic level of four atoms. It can be applied to micro-machines, microchips or even to steel to make it stronger.

Nanotechnology researchers in Taiwan are divided into two classes: those who aim to build a product in the next two-to-five years and those engaged in long-term, fundamental research.

Leading the industrial charge is the ITRI, a publicly funded research group based in Hsinchu, the Silicon Valley of Taiwan.

More than 60 percent of the nanotechnology budget, around NT$10 billion, has been set aside for ITRI to research and develop products in four areas: raw materials, electronics, machinery and biomedicine. The goal then is to accelerate the transfer of the technology to the nation's industrial sector.

This year, NT$700 million is expected to be spent on nanotechnology-based research targeted at improving microchips, information-storage technology, computer screens and opto-communications, such as fiber optics, among others.

One example of how this technology can be used is in expanding the storage capacity of DVDs. ITRI intends to use the microscopic science to perfect the materials used to make CDs and DVDs to create a single DVD capable of holding the same amount of information, in the form of MP3 audio files, JPEG picture files and digital movies, as 35 CDs.

Yang Jih-chang (楊日昌), ITRI's executive vice president, expects developments in nanotechnology to contribute to product improvements that will boost output in traditional industries such as textiles by NT$90 billion in the next three years. He said nanotechnology will enable companies to produce things such as dust-resistant paint and smarter computers.

Others in Taiwan are not so optimistic about how long it will take to develop new products from the nanotechnology initiative.

Wu Maw-kuen (吳茂昆), vice chairman of the National Science Council, said it could take up to five years to see any new products come from current nanotechnology research. He said improvements applicable to the electronics industry would take the longest.

He also expects Taiwan's national nanotechnology program, which is to be put forward by the council early next year, to stress fundamental research into nanotechnology.

Fundamental research is not aimed at making products but at doing original work in order to win patents.

This type of R&D will take place primarily at Academia Sinica, the nation's leading research institute, as well as at top universities such as the National Taiwan University in Taipei and the National Tsinghua University in Hsinchu.

Other critics of Taiwan's proposed nanotechnology program point out that China plans to spend NT$105.7 billion (US$3 billion) by 2005 on nanotechnology research, far more than Taiwan. They believe the government should put more money into R&D so Taiwan can maintain its high-tech advantage over China.
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